Ben Kingsley is villainous in 'Iron Man 3'

Who hasn't driven through the streets of Hollywood and fantasized about starring in a summer comic-book movie?

It turns out that even Oscar-winning actors are not immune to the dream.

Sir Ben Kingsley, who won an Academy Award in 1983 for "Gandhi" and was nominated three more times for "Bugsy," "Sexy Beast" and "House of Sand and Fog," confessed that he was driving in L.A. with his wife a couple of years ago when he blurted out: "I'd love to do a really cool franchise."

Well, that really cool franchise movie is "Iron Man 3," which opens Friday with Kingsley portraying a global terrorist known as the Mandarin.

The Mandarin, an Earth-based villain who broadcasts threats to the world, proves to be a formidable foe for billionaire industrialist and Iron Man alter-ego Tony Stark (played again by Robert Downey Jr.). The film, directed by Shane Black, is based on the comic book character that first appeared in a 1963 issue of "Tales of Suspense."

The British-born Kingsley, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth more than a decade ago, has done his fair share of big films – including Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" and Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" and "Shutter Island" – but this is his first venture into the world of comic book movies.

His character in "Iron Man 3" is complex, but there will be no spoilers here. You'll have to see the movie yourself.

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER:I have a question only you can answer.

SIR BEN KINGSLEY: OK.

Q.Of knighthood, an Oscar and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which one makes you most attractive to women?

A. Oh, I don't know. You're asking the wrong person. You'd have to ask the women.

Q.It's not something you ever pondered?

A. I never think of it like that. It never crossed my mind. Until now. (laughs).

Q.Well then, what does a title, an Oscar and a star mean to you?

A. You have to put them in perspective. Being a performing artist and a storyteller, which is what I basically am, acknowledgement is important, but it has to have its place. The important thing is not to be swerved away from the actual role of a storyteller. To be acknowledged has its value, and you treasure it, but then you go on to the next story. There is no plateau that you rest upon. A storyteller can only function when he is telling stories.

Q.The last time we spoke, you suggested that your Oscar-winning role in "Gandhi" literally made your career. Do you still feel that way?

A. I wasn't exactly a newcomer at the time. It came after 15 years in the theater. If I may use the metaphor of a painter, when I worked in classical and British theater, I probably saw myself as a landscape painter. When you move into cinema acting, you are no longer a landscape artist; you are a portrait artist. You are defining the features of an individual. As a theater actor, you are defining the struggle of a landscape.

Q.Can you imagine how your career might have progressed if you had not gotten that movie role?

A. It happened; it is what it is, and there is no way I can speculate. But the career shift, and the craft shift, has been thrilling. Fifteen years in the theater is a long time, and then to be invited by a great director (Richard Attenborough) to completely change your technique and pick up a brush and face a blank canvas in a totally different way was a wonderful thing. It made me realize that I am a portrait artist. I don't do landscapes anymore.

Q.Speaking of portraits, I was wondering if your brilliant performance as an alcoholic hit man in the 2007 film "You Kill Me" led directly to getting this role of a terrorist leader in "Iron Man 3"?

A. Oh, thank you for that, but (director) Shane Black told me exactly what led him to cast me, and it was another film, "Sexy Beast." He saw it in Toronto, and he was in the audience when I did a Q & A on the film. He said that gave him some insight into what was going on when Kingsley acts. Apparently, that put the idea in his head years later when he was casting this film.

Q.What do you suppose he saw in "Sexy Beast" that led him to think of you as the Mandarin?

A. I think both films completely embrace the notion of male vulnerability. In this film, you have this tough iron suit, and inside it a completely vulnerable man.

Q. Is this your personal theory, or is it Shane's?

A. We're all on the same page. Tony Stark embraces his vulnerability. That's a wonderful theme to explore. I think all the characters get to explore it to a greater or lesser extent.

Q.Great actors make great villains, and I suspect that the key to that performance is that the villain doesn't see himself as a villain. Is that right?

A. That is the key.

Q.There are aspects of this character we can't discuss...

A. Yes, we must not discuss it.

Q.But I was curious where you found the essence of this character.

A. I found him in the script, and I found him in the things that he says.

Q.For instance?

A. When he says, "I consider myself a teacher," and then Tony Stark says he sounds like a preacher. The Mandarin sees himself with a sense of righteousness and a sense of destiny, with an amazing grasp of history. He has the ability to take an icon and crush it and turn it against the viewer. He's very manipulative. The script lent itself to achieve all of this, with certain vowel sounds, certain rhythmic patterns of speech and certain repetitive speech. These things fascinate me as an actor. I've watched old newsreel footage of these people, and you see that presentation is vital. What I wear in this film is all part of that presentation.

A. The commonality is a sense of righteousness. They feel a divine right that is so threatening, so irrational and so mad, but they believe it has its own logic.

Q.Unlike Dr. Octopus and the Green Goblin from the Spider-Man saga, the Mandarin is more of a real-world villain. Does that make playing him any different for you than if you were playing one of those other super-villains?

A. He's real, and he manipulates with his intelligence and his language.

Q.Were there discussions on how he would look, or was that set before you showed up?

A. That was set, and I loved it. I put it on and never questioned it. I told them to put it in my trailer every morning and I would put it on.

Q.How much does the costume and makeup help in selling the performance?

A. It does help. When I'm making a film, I like to say to people around me that it would be great if I could walk onto the set as the character. I'm not saying in character, but looking like the character.

Q.Is that a hard and fast rule with you?

A. It is. This makeup job took 90 minutes every day, and if someone came in and asked me to pop into the set for a few minutes and then return for the rest of my makeup, I'd refuse. I'd tell them that I can't leave until the makeup person's job is completed. To interrupt that process could wreck the day for me. That is a very important part of my preparation.

Q.What do you do during those 90 minutes in the makeup chair?

A. I close my eyes and almost go into a meditative state. It's almost like Zen, or whatever pretentious crap you want to call it (laughs). I run the dialogue gently in my head. My ideal state at the moment a director yells "Action" is to be at zero. I want nothing to be going on. I don't psych myself up before a take; I psych myself down.

Q.You do that so you are receptive?

A. Exactly.

Q.Can you believe Sir Ben Kingsley is in a comic-book movie?

A. Not at all. Pinch. Pinch.

Q. Did you care that you hadn't been?

A. My mind doesn't work that way. But I do remember saying to my wife as we drove down Wilshire Boulevard a couple of years ago that "I'd love to do a really cool franchise."

Q.What did she say?

A. She said, "You will."

Q. Because she believed that you would bring it into your experience?

A. Yes. You make it come true because you are receptive to it.

Q. I don't picture you reading comic books when you were a kid.

A. I did, but they were British comic books. In particular, I read a comic book called Eagle. The hero was Dan Dare, and the villain was The Mekon.

Q.What was Dan Dare like?

A. Just a regular guy, with not much of a sense of humor. There was no irony in our comics. There were serious action comics, and then there were funny comics. You never mixed the two. That's what I love about "Iron Man." It confidently mixes the two, along with deep romance, friendship and loss.

Q.Can any comparisons be drawn between The Mekon and the Mandarin?

A. Not really. The Mekon is closer to Dr. Octopus. He was a little green man with a massive head. He didn't walk; he hovered in this goldfish bowl. You couldn't relate to him at all in human terms.

Q.Can you understand the appeal of the Marvel characters?

A. I can. It's totally about their vulnerability, and the style in which they are presented. These films look beautiful to watch.

Q. How is daily life different on a comic-book movie set compared to the smaller film sets you're accustomed to?

A. Regardless of the size of the film, every set is broken down into components and moments. I wasn't involved in CGI or green-screen stuff. When the dust settles down from those big moments, you have a scene of great intimacy. It's very skillfully mixed, and I was involved mostly in scenes of intimacy. In those moments, you and the people in your scene are the only people in the universe. In those moments, all films are alike.